By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 14 -- Those disappointed that the US will not, at least for now, be bombing Syria include not only the Gulf-sponsored rebels but also some big media correspondents at the UN.
Just after Inner City Press published an analysis for the deal reached in Geneva between the US and Russia, the anonymous social media trolling which was linked this week in MediaBistro to Louis Charbonneau of Reuters and Tim Witcher of AFP began again.
(One might say, just as the lack of relevance of France and the UK was exposed by this US - Russia deal, the servile nature of their associated media was also exposed.)
Both Charbonneau and Witcher are officers of the UN Correspondents Association, a group which sponsored Saudi-supported Syria rebel boss Ahmad al Jarba for a faux "UN briefing" in late July, in a room give by the UN to UNCA with little transparency.
Questions by the Free UN Coalition for Access@FUNCA_info to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokespeople, if this really was a "UN briefing" and the basis on which a large room is given to a group which represents less then ten percent of the journalist who will cover the UN General Assembly have gone unanswered.
The UN Department of Public Information, which "partners" with UNCA, is entirely aware of the anonymous trolling, which has included counterfeit @InnerCityPress accounts. But counterfeiting continues, and trolling linked to the UNCA officers.
At least one DPI official has improperly received from Charbonneau internal UNCA anti-Press documents, three minutes after Charbonneau promised he would not do so -story here, audio here, document here. That is Reuters and UNCA spying for the UN, still not addressed. What goes the other way? We will have more on this.
